Classic Vanilla Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream

Happy November 1st everyone!!! Did I listen to Christmas music on my way to work? Yep I did. And I am not sorry.

Though I’m very sad to see Halloween come and go, I am ecstatic for the holidays to come our way!

Yesterday was also my dad’s birthday, and we celebrated as a family on Sunday night. It was great spending the day with everyone! I was looking forward to my sister coming home with her dog Kingston and her new dog Brooklyn, but due to some serious rain and a week long cold she had to cancel. Hopefully Casper (my parent’s dog) will get to meet Brooklyn soon!

Speaking of dogs, I got a formal OK from my landlord to adopt my own! I’M SO EXCITED!!I loved having a dog in the house while growing up, and I’d love to give a rescue a loving forever home. Fingers crossed!

Ok so onto the cake. I made a simple vanilla birthday cake for my dad with a classic chocolate whipped buttercream. To be honest, I prefer my cakes to be a bit more dense, but everyone seemed to like this one which is a bit lighter and fluffier than others. I used a scoop of ice-cream right on top to give mine a little more oomf.

I was enjoying myself way too much with my family to take tons of pretty pictures, but I got a few with my phone.

I bought some Halloween inspired flowers at my local super market and had a blast decorating the cake with my 2 little cousins. Using flowers is my favorite way to make a cake look fancy without stressing yourself out too much.

I really laid the icing on thick and didn’t worry about smoothing the sides. Since I knew the cake was a lighter consistency, I just felt like it needed a little extra icing.

Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease and line three 8-inch baking pans. I like to line the bottom with parchment paper then spray with cooking spray. Set aside

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs and yolks until just combines. Then add the vanilla and yogurt and continue beating on low until well combined.

With the mixer still on low, alternate adding in your dry ingredient mixture and the buttermilk, pausing until everything is fully combined before adding more.

Evenly distribute the batter between the 3 cake pans and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a knife/tooth pick runs through the center and comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely before icing

Icing

Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat well on medium until light and fluffy, then add the cocoa powder and vanilla and continue beating

After about 2-4 minutes there should be no more streaks of white. Make sure the scrape down your sides. Finally add the heavy whipping cream and beat once more until all combined.

If you prefer sweeter, thicker icing, you can add more powdered sugar.